A Success Story
For over thirty years, the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (IBU) has dedicated itself to the principles of sustainable construction. A critical factor in achieving this has been the availability of neutral product information. With its more than 200 members, including 42 associations from Germany and other European countries, the IBU has become Europe’s largest association of building industry manufacturers.
For over thirty years, the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (IBU) has dedicated itself to the principles of sustainable construction. A critical factor in achieving this has been the availability of neutral product information. With its more than 200 members, including 42 associations from Germany and other European countries, the IBU has become Europe’s largest association of building industry manufacturers.
The IBU operates the leading international programme for environmental product declarations (EPDs), which provide clear, scientifically-based product information in accordance with unified standards. This independent source of information for construction products and building components ensures that the ecological aspect can be taken into account in the sustainability assessment of buildings. Over the years, what started out as a relatively cumbersome standard with a small market niche has developed into a market-friendly and recognised format. The construction industry has become the only branch in Germany to offer a comprehensive system for making independent sustainability-relevant information available for the entire range of industry products.
Along with Germany and fifteen other European countries, IBU members and declaration holders also come from the USA and Asian countries. The IBU currently supports 2,000 building materials and construction product industry companies in the creation of their own EPDs. Together, they have published more than 1,700 EPDs, which are available for viewing and free download at https://ibu-epd.com/published-epds. Mutual-recognition partnerships have also been established with seven international EPD operators. Recognising that sustainable construction will create an increased demand for EPDs from building product end-users, the industry has invested over 25 million euros in EPDs – a sum that underscores the importance of EPDs as a source of valuable high-quality information.